A Madman in Love

Chapter 29

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Jaehee asked, noticing the sharp triangle forming in Suin’s eyes.

His expression was so harmless it left her speechless.

“Are you seriously asking me that?”

“I am.”

“Do you think you're normal, Executive Director?”

“Of course, I’m perfectly normal.”

Despite her sarcasm, he smiled lazily, his eyes crinkling in amusement.

Then, with a casual tilt of his chin, he motioned toward Baek Ihyeon inside the cafeteria.

“As long as you don’t go to that guy.”

A smirk followed, sharp and poisonous.

“If you want to provoke me, go ahead.”

Wow.

This was outright blackmail.

It’s best not to mess with a rabid dog, especially one that Socrates himself couldn’t reason with.

Not to mention, there was no leash to hold him back.

“This is a workplace, Executive Director.”

Suin offered him a tight-lipped smile, the kind that silently conveyed, people shouldn’t bite others, and turned her back on the cafeteria.

With a polite gesture, she beckoned him to follow.

“Please, let’s go upstairs.”

“You’re quite sensible, Lee Suin.”

Jaehee turned around without resistance.

How fortunate that he wasn’t completely irrational.

Suin felt relieved as she escorted him to the elevator, glad to have resolved the situation without incident.

“Excited, aren’t you?”

Jaehee matched her pace effortlessly. His long strides were now leisurely, yet there was no hint of impatience.

“Excited about what?”

“That someone as perfect as me only has eyes for you, Lee Suin.”

It wasn’t worth responding to, so Suin changed the subject.

“You’re in early today. There wasn’t even a meeting scheduled for this morning.”

“It’s because of you. This is the only time I can have a one-on-one conversation with you. You’re my secretary, yet it’s so hard to even see your face.”

“...”

Her silence drew a frown of reproach from him.

“You’re neglecting your duties.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You dumped me on that assistant and left me to fend for myself.”

“Kwon Jongin is not an assistant. And he’s certainly not a ‘burden.’”

Unbelievable.

Lee Suin, accused of dereliction of duty? It was true that she had piled up mountains of work as Chief Secretary and delegated most of it to Jongin, but she refused to admit it.

“I’m just doing my job.”

She pressed the elevator button firmly, staring straight ahead.

Employees climbing the stairs to the second floor greeted them with respectful nods. Jaehee responded with a polite nod of his own before speaking again.

“Your only job should be focusing on me.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Is it really that hard to only pay attention to me?”

“It is.”

From an outsider’s perspective, they were just a director and his secretary.@@@@

But their conversation treaded dangerously close to crossing the line between professional and personal.

Suin stood her ground.

“Executive Director, as I’ve told you before, I am the Chief Secretary of Hyesung Group. You should have taken that into account before choosing me for this role.”

“So, you’re going to keep neglecting me?”

“I wouldn’t say I’ve been neglecting you.”

“You did when you kissed me.”

“...!”

His sudden remark shattered her defenses.

Horrified, Suin glanced up at the elevator hall’s CCTV.

What if someone heard that?

Suin blinked rapidly, sending frantic signals to Ihyeon, but he responded with a bold look, as if brushing off her concerns.

‘As you know, Executive Director, Suin and I share a special relationship.’

‘Special? In what way?’

Ihyeon’s steady gaze and deliberate words carried an air of determination, as though he had resolved himself to something.

What exactly drove him, Suin couldn’t guess, but it was enough to fan the flames of Jaehee’s temper.

‘Do I really need to explain?’

‘Yes. Clearly.’

The elevator now felt like a furnace, the air growing stiflingly hot with the rising tension.

Suin wanted nothing more than to escape.

There was no room to mediate.

‘Let’s avoid informal speech.’

‘Then you use it, too, Assistant Manager Baek.’

‘I will maintain my decorum, Executive Director.’

Neither of them allowed any space for Suin to intervene.

They were even getting childish.

‘I said, do it.’

‘I refuse.’

‘I’m your junior.’

‘You’re my boss, Executive Director.’

Ding—

The elevator stopped at the 15th floor.

Suin pressed and held the door-open button, gesturing for Ihyeon to exit.

But the two men, locked in their intense standoff, stood rooted to the floor like ancient oaks.

‘Shall we have a little chat, Assistant Manager Baek?’

‘I think we should.’

‘Assistant Manager, this is the 15th floor.’

‘Let go of the button, Suin. We’re going to my office.’

‘Yes, Suin. I’ll join the Executive Director in his office.’

Ignoring Suin’s attempts to urge them out, Jaehee and Ihyeon spoke in unison as if they had rehearsed it.

Watching the two in sync, Suin cursed silently with her eyes.

What are you going to do in there? Fight it out?

‘Please, just step out—’

Before things could explode any further, a voice interrupted.

‘Good morning, Assistant Manager!’

A female employee from the adjacent elevator stepped out and greeted Ihyeon as she passed the open doors of the third elevator.

Spotting Jaehee as well, she quickly bowed, flustered.

‘Oh, good morning, Executive Director!’

‘Yes,’ Jaehee responded, offering a curt nod.

Maintaining her usual composed demeanor, Suin acknowledged the greeting with a polite glance.

‘Good morning, Yeonhong,’ Ihyeon replied with a pleasant smile, stepping out of the elevator at last.

But he didn’t leave quietly.

Before departing, he intentionally pressed his coffee cup into Suin’s hand, his expression warm and affectionate.

‘Take care, Suin.’

Why?

Why couldn’t people resist making her life difficult?

‘...’

Suin couldn’t bring herself to smile.

She couldn’t even let go of the elevator’s open button, knowing full well that the moment she did, she’d be left alone with Seo Jaehee.

While Ihyeon had intended to help her by challenging Jaehee, there was one critical thing he failed to consider.

Jaehee didn’t care about the CCTV.

Slowly, Jaehee’s hand moved.

It slipped under hers, softly wrapping around her fingers, and gently pried them away from the button as though her hand weighed nothing.

Her hand, now floating in midair, rested lightly in his.

Suin stared at it, utterly bewildered.

‘Executive Director.’

That was all she could manage to say.

‘This is a workplace.’